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23 July 2018

UNWTO launches an online Platform to Achieve SDGs through TourismMadrid, Spain, 23 July 2018 - Promoting a greater engagement of the tourism sector with sustainable development is the main objective of the Tourism for SDGs Platform. The online tool is designed to advance the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals through tourism, and was developed by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) with the support of Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).

105th UNWTO Executive Council meeting concludes in MadridMadrid, Spain, hosted the 105th meeting of the Executive Council of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) between 11 and 12 May. The Meeting focused on current trends and challenges facing the tourism sector and on the three priorities of the Organization - safe, secure and seamless travel; the impact of technology in the tourism sector and sustainability.

The World Tourism Organization begins the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for DevelopmentHis Majesty King Felipe VI of Spain presided over the event celebrating the launch of the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, organized by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). The gathering was attended by ministers of tourism from around the world. The celebration highlighted tourism’s enormous potential to contribute to the development of all countries within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals, and the need to continue advancing towards a more sustainable sector that generates benefits to local communities and promotes the conservation of cultural values and natural heritage.

The Year Ahead: harnessing the power of tourism to build a better worldDear friends,
I write to you as I begin my final year as UNWTO Secretary-General, a position I have been privileged to hold for almost seven years at an Agency I have been proud to serve for the past decade.
During this time I have seen tourism become one of the world’s most important and impactful socio-economic sectors of our times. I have seen its growing relevance to the lives of millions around the world, to the preservation of our common values and to greater understanding among people of all walks of life.

1st World Conference on Tourism for Development opens this week in BeijingThe World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the Government of the People’s Republic of China will host the First World Conference on Tourism for Development on 19 May. Under the theme ‘Tourism for Peace and Development’, the event is the first high-level meeting to address how tourism can contribute to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 universal goals.